Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology logoLink to Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology
. 1988 Oct;114(5):514–518. doi: 10.1007/BF00391503

Increased serum concentrations of cholesterol and triglycerides in the progression of breast cancer

C C Zielinski 1,✉, I Stuller 1, P Rausch 1, Ch Müller 1
PMCID: PMC12243842  PMID: 3182912

Abstract

The course of serum concentrations of cholesterol and triglycerides was investigated in patients with advanced breast cancer. The patients studied were divided into two groups according to their clinical status: group-I consisted of 51 patients who already had metastases at the start of the investigation, but progressed further during the time of observation; group-II consisted of 14 patients in remission who experienced recurrence of disease while under observation. In group-I, 28 patients (54.9%) were found to have normal serum triglyceride levels at the beginning of the observation period; 22 patients (78.6%) from this group experienced a significant (P<0.0001) increase above the normal range upon further disease progression. Similarly, serum cholesterol levels were normal in 32 patients (62.8%) at the start of the investigation, but increased significantly (P<0.0001) above the normal range upon disease progression. In group-II, 8 patients (57.2%) had normal serum triglyceride levels at the beginning of the observation period, but the levels inreased in 4 patients (50%) significantly (P<0.005) upon the occurrence of metastases. Within the same group, a significant increase (P<0.001) of initially normal serum cholesterol levels was found in 4 (44.9%) out of 9 patients. In summary, a rise in serum levels of triglycerides and/or cholesterol should receive increased attention and could indicate progression or recurrence of breast cancer.

Key words: Cholesterol, Triglycerides, Breast cancer

References

  1. Barclay M, Calathes N, DiLorenzo JC, Helper A, Kaufman RJ (1959) The relation between plasma lipoproteins and breast carcinoma: Effect of degrees of breast disease on plasma lipoproteins and the possible role of lipid metabolic aberrations. Cancer 12:1163–1170 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Barclay M, Skipski VP, Terebus-Kekish O, Greene EM, Kaufman RJ, Stock CC (1970) Effects of cancer upon high-density and other lipoproteins. Cancer Res 30:2420–2430 [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bates SE, Longo DL (1985) Tumor markers: value and limitations in the management of cancer patients. Cancer Treat Rep 12:163–207 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Beard DB, Haskell CM (1986) Carcinoembryonic antigen in breast cancer. Am J Med 80:241–245 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bentler B, Greenwald D, Hulmer JD et al. (1985) Identity of tumor necrosis factor and the macrophage secreted factor cachectin. Nature 316:552–554 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Bonadonna G, Rossi A, Valagussa P, Banfi A, Veronesi U (1977) The CMF program for operable breast cancer with positive axillary nodes. Cancer 39:2904–2915 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Carroll KK, Gammal EB, Plunkett ER (1968) Dietary fat and mammary cancer. Can Med Assoc J 93:590–594 [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Drasar BS, Irving D (1973) Environmental factors and cancer of the colon and breast. Br J Cancer 27:167–172 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Editorial (1984) Cancer cachexia. Lancet I:833–34
  10. Hayes DF, Zurawski VR, Kufe DW (1986) Comparison of circulating CA 15-3 and carcinoembryonic antigen levels in patients with breast cancer. J Clin Oncol 4:1542–1550 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hiatt RA, Friedman GD, Bawol RD, Ury HK (1982) Breast cancer and serum cholesterol. J Natl Cancer Inst 68:885–889 [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Jothy S, Brazinsky SA, Chin-A-Loy M, Haggarty A, Krantz MJ, Cheung M, Fuks A (1986) Characterization of monoclonal antibodies to carcinoembryonic antigen with increased tumor specificity. Lab Invest 54:108–117 [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Miller AB, Hoogstraten B, Staquet M, Winkler A (1981) Reporting results of cancer treatment. Cancer 47:207–212 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Miller SR, Tartter PI, Papatestas AE, Slater G, Aufses AH (1981) Serum cholesterol and human colon cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 67:297–300 [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Myers RE, Sutherland DJ, Meakin JW, Keelen JA, Malkin DG, Malkin A (1978) Carcinoembryonic antigen in breast cancer. Cancer 42:1520–1528 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Newlands ES (1987) Clinical applications of tumor markers. Med Lab Sci 44:361–370 [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Nydegger UE, Butler RE (1972) Serum lipoprotein levels in patients with cancer. Cancer Res 32:1756–1760 [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Roessner S, Hedlund PO, Jogestrand T, Saewe U (1985) Treatment of prostatic cancer: Effects on serum lipoproteins and the cardiovascular system. J Urol 133:53–57 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Roessner S, Wallgren A (1984) Serum lipoproteins and proteins after breast cancer surgery and effects of tamoxifen. Atherosclerosis 52:339–346 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Schlom J (1986) Basic principles and applications of monoclonal antibodies in the management of carcinomas. The Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Lecture. Cancer Res 46:3225–3238 [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Spiegel RJ, Schaefer E, Magrath IT, Edwards BK (1982) Plasmalipid alterations in leukemia and lymphoma. Am J Med 72:775–782 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Stacker SA, Thompson C, Riglar C, McKenzie IFC (1985) A new breast carcinoma antigen defined by monoclonal antibody. J Natl Cancer Inst 75:801–811 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Steward DM, Nixon D, Zarncheck N, Aisenberg A (1974) Carcinoembryonic antigen in breast carcinoma patients: serial levels and disease progression. Cancer 33:1246–1252 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Tartter PI, Papatestas AE, Ioannovich J, Mulvihill MN, Lesnick G, Aufses AH (1981) Cholesterol and obesity as prognostic factors in breast cancer. Cancer 47:2222–2227 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Tartter PI, Slater G, Papatestas AE, Aufses AE (1984) Cholesterol, weight, height and Quetelet's index, and colon cancer recurrence. J Surg Oncol 27:232–235 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Wahren B, Lidbrink E, Wolfgren A, Encroth P, Zajicek T (1978) Carcinoembryonic antigen and other tumor markers in tissue and serum or plasma of patients with primary mammary carcinoma. Cancer 42:1870–1878 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Wallace RB, Rost C, Burmeister LF, Pomrehn PR (1982) Cancer incidence in humans: Relationship to plasma lipids and relative weight. J Natl Cancer Inst 68:915–918 [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Rosner BA, Hennekens CH, Sijeizer FE (1987) Dietary fat and the risk of breast cancer. N Engl J Med 316:22–28 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Zielinski CC, Kubista E, Salzer H, Sevelda P, Langer M, Staffen A, Spona J, Aiginger P (1986) Adjuvant chemotherapy combined with tamoxifen in postmenopausal patients with stage II breast cancer. Lancet II:1164 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology are provided here courtesy of Springer

RESOURCES